Stepping out into your own backyard

The wind was up, the morning sky was clear and the flags that dotted the shoreline moved dramatically with the wind as it came off the bay. The wind, which my daughter says makes me sound old when I talk about it, really doesn’t have much to do with anything except it was part of a wonderful opportunity to sit on a dock and catch up with an old friend.

We talked about what we were doing at the moment and about what we were reading — Einstein came up because it was one of the current reads. We shifted our conversation to current events and our shared thoughts, as well as thoughts on those who share thoughts. One of us, and I am not sure who, suggested people need to step out into their own backyard. It struck us as something so profound that we joked that it would make a great title for a book. The conversation eventually faded into what was a great cottage weekend.

The conversation had been wide ranging and I can’t put my finger on what triggered the fledgling book title and I’m still trying to comprehend its meaning. I know there is something to it but I’m not entirely sure what, so I asked my friend iamGPT what he/she/it had to say —

Me: How would you figuratively interpret this sentence, Stepping out into your own backyard?

ChatGPT: The phrase "stepping out into your own backyard" can be figuratively interpreted in several ways, depending on the context. Here are a few possible interpretations:

1. Exploring Familiar Ground:
2. Starting with Small, Manageable Steps:
3. Personal Growth and Reflection:
4. Taking Initiative and Ownership:
5. Finding Joy in Simplicity:

Each of these interpretations offers a different perspective on the figurative meaning of the phrase, emphasizing aspects like familiarity, personal growth, initiative, and simplicity.

iamGTP offered very uplifting set of interpretations I admit, but it still didn’t feel right — maybe it was the context of our discussions that doesn’t have me piling on the self-improvement and wellbeing bandwagon. As I reflect on what we were talking about I kept coming back to the word “accountability”.

The metaphor of stepping out into your own backyard came about because we recognized much of what is being said and done today seems to lack any accountability in terms of taking responsibility or being held accountable — there seems to be a growing trend to relinquish any responsibility or accountability in many things and let it fall elsewhere. Opinion supersedes facts, language is misleading and sensationalized and more often than not, is allowed; what is said and done today is forgotten tomorrow. An easy example is listening to the weather forecast and the storm of the century that never materializes — start scratching and most places be it governments, institutions or the person in the grocery line complaining (pick a topic) and you will see a growing lack of accountability.

The idea of stepping out into your own backyard was to suggest more people need to reflect on themselves and take accountability, and metaphorically speaking, create a nice back yard — a back yard that is well kept, inviting, includes a biodiversity that is healthy. A retreat for yourself and others.

I should mention that ownership is not the same as accountability. You can own a backyard, but unless you are accountable for it, it will become the final resting spot for rusty appliances and broken bicycles. And figuratively speaking, that is not a nice place to spend your time (for that matter, it isn’t even a great place in the literal sense).

That day with the wind, on the dock, involving a pithy little quip illustrated a realization of a growing lack of character that’s happening all around us. Take the Canadian Women’s Olympic Soccer team for instance. They got caught cheating as they tried to spy on the other teams using a drone — and they appealed the consequences when they got caught. Sure, it was the coaching staff based on what we know so far, but by the nature of the game you are a team, so everyone owns it. We are Canadian for fuck's sake, what exactly is going on? Let’s take some accountability and ask ourselves who we want to be?

Let’s leave whether character really matters another day to discuss — there’s definitely a solid camp for “the end justifies the means” so it’s not as clear cut as some would think. For the record, I believe character is crucial for long term success and happiness with accountability being a big one in that regard. Call me old fashioned (something that comes with talking about the wind I suppose).

Please let me know if I am ever falling short.

iamgpe

PS: Thanks to Miketopia and iamGPT for helping me collect my thoughts.